Joint tenant’s interest exigible to writ of seizure and sale

03 May 2019

In Ong Boon Hwee v Cheah Ng Soo and another [2019] SGHC 65, the Singapore High Court considered whether a joint tenant’s interest in immovable property is exigible to a writ of seizure and sale. In this latest decision, the High Court answered this question in the positive, largely agreeing with the High Court decision in Peter Low LLC v Higgins, Danial Patrick [2018] 4 SLR 1003.
 
This decision is unlikely to be the last word on this matter, given that the Court of Appeal in Chan Lung Kien v Chan Shwe Ching [2018] 2 SLR 84 had expressly declined to opine on the issue of whether a joint tenant’s interest can be taken in execution under a writ of seizure and sale and there are two contrary High Court decisions on this issue. Pending any definitive pronouncement by the Court of Appeal, judgment creditors should approach the issue cautiously.
 
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